MSM 622: Taylor Swift & Rick Rolling
Summary:
Shawn and Troy share some tips, Michigan History, and more. Dave performs some assessments.
Jokes:
What has 2 syllables but hundreds of letters?
- Postmen.
The opposite of formaldehyde is casualdejekyll.
Filed my nails today.
- They’re in the N drawer.
The word queue is ironic. It’s just q with a bunch of silent letters waiting in line.
One day I changed a lightbulb, crossed the road and walked into a bar.
- That’s when I realised my whole life was a joke
Lost another audio-book.
- I’ll never hear the end of it.
When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane
If you walk into a forest and cut down a tree, but the tree doesn’t understand why you cut it down, do you think it’s stumped?
Can’t wait til Wind Day and Fire Day!
The shorter you are, the deeper the swimming pool.
Piano Man has got to be the lamest super hero yet.
Why do French chefs only use one egg?
- Because one egg is un oeuf.
My dog talks in her sleep.
She never tells the truth.
Theres nothing I can do about it.
- You have to let sleeping dogs lie.
Pre means before.
Post means after.
To use both prefixes together would be preposterous.
Middle School Science Minute
by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
K12Science Podcast: Performance Based Assessment
I was recently reading the March/April 2024 issue of “Science Scope,” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.
In this issue, I read the “Interdisciplinary Ideas” section written by Katie Coppens. She wrote an article entitled, “Designing Performance-Based Assessments That Engage!”
Rather than stressful, an assessment should feel like a celebration of learning for students. Performance-based assessments allow students to demonstrate their understanding of one or more standards by accomplishing tasks that are engaging and flexible in how students approach them. In addition to seeing students’ scientific knowledge, teachers get a better sense of their students’ interests and strengths that they bring to each open-ended assignment. The author then shared an example of a performance-based assignment based on the Flint Water Crisis.
http://k12science.net/performance-based-assessment/
Reports from the Front Lines
- Student presentations – MHD
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- MLTI
- Testing
The Social Web
Deidre J Owen, Author @deidrejowen
I’m filling out a medical form online and I’m curious who’s out there speaking Old English.
Etymology of the day: the name of the Canary Islands didn’t begin with the canary bird. Instead it’s thought that the Latin ‘canaria insula’ described the ‘island of dogs’, because one of the islands had a large population of wild dogs. Which would mean that the archipelago’s native bird is named after the dogs, too.
I love how the word ‘atone’ wears its heart on its sleeve. It began as ‘at one’, because to atone is to bring back unity. Atonement is really ‘at-one-ment’. In the same way, ‘alone’ began as ‘all one’.
Strategies:
Student Made Books
Lots of options here. You can be as thorough or as limited as you want. Could be a graphic novel, limited to a certain.
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/student-e-books
Resources:
Add a Cursor to Any website
https://code.kuederle.com/addcursor
Web Spotlight:
Sleeping more flushes junk out of the brain
Neurons are still active during sleep. We may not realize it, but the brain takes advantage of this recharging period to get rid of junk that was accumulating during waking hours.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/04/sleeping-more-flushes-junk-out-of-the-brain
20 Minutes of Charles Schulz Drawing Peanuts Comics
This is wonderful: a collection of video clips of Charles Schulz drawing his iconic Peanuts comic strip — “everything I could find of Charles Schulz drawing his Peanuts characters” in the words of the compiler.
https://kottke.org/24/04/20-minutes-of-charles-schulz-drawing-peanuts-comics
AXIS The Culture Translator
Up All Night
What it is: Gallup polling data has found a huge spike in the percentage of Americans who say they get less sleep than they need. Survey results also indicate an increase in Americans’ daily stress.
Why it’s news you can use: This data indicates that when you interact with anyone—in a store, on the road, at work, or in church—there’s a decent chance that particular human is feeling both exhausted and stressed out. The odds of this stress/exhaustion matrix are even higher if you are conversing with a young woman aged 18 to 29. In 2001, 42% of young women in that bracket said they get enough sleep, but that number has dropped to 27%. Younger women are also the most likely to say they experience daily stress. Stress and sleep have a symbiotic relationship, and parents should understand how both factors play a role in teens’ mental health.
Paying the Piper
What it is: Research and investment firm Piper Sandler released their “47th Semi-Annual Taking Stock With Teens” survey, focused on modern teen trends.
Why it’s worth paying attention to: While the survey is primarily focused on trends for investment, their research does give us insight into the ever-changing winds of teen culture. The survey covers everything from social media usage, to which clothing brands teens prefer, to their favorite snacks (it’s Goldfish). Some of the more interesting trends include TikTok losing popularity with teens and Instagram regaining it, 85% of teens owning an iPhone, and “the environment” being the social cause most teens cared about (even though only 14% cared about it). We’ll see how these trends play out over the rest of the year and into the future, but for now, when your teen tells you they have to have the $1600 iPhone Pro Max, you’ll know, at least partly, why.
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